GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The North Dakota men's basketball team continues a three-game Big Sky homestand on Thursday with a game against Idaho State. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at The Betty. These two teams have played home-and-home series each of the past two seasons with UND holding a 3-1 edge in those matchups.

IN THE PAINT...• Fans should expect a high-scoring affair with both teams ranking in the top three in the Big Sky in scoring this season. UND ranks second at 74.8 ppg, while the Bengals trail in third by just a tenth of a point at 74.7 ppg.• UND is looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season after knocking off Southern Utah in its Big Sky home opener last Thursday, 65-61.• Senior Troy Huff had the 30th 20-plus point game of his career and finished with a double-double after scoring 25 points and pulling down all 11 of his rebounds in the second half.• The Bengals were one of four league teams to hold serve on their home court during the opening week of play, beating both Portland State (87-76) and Eastern Washington (83-72) by 11 points.• UND swept the season series from Idaho State during its inaugural Big Sky season, defeating the Bengals in Pocatelo 66-53 for what was the program’s first league win on Jan. 3. UND then defeated ISU at home 69-52 on Feb. 2.• Huff averaged 18.0 ppg against the Bengals, while classmate Aaron Anderson added 17.5 ppg, including a game-high 19 at Pocatello.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: IDAHO STATE• The Bengals are off to a 2-0 start in Big Sky Conference play after posting double-digit victories over Portland State and Eastern Washington this past weekend.• The 2-0 start by ISU in league play marks the first time that has happened for the team since the 2007-08 season.• Senior guard Andre Hatchett registered a career-high 24 points vs. the Vikings, then backed that up with a new career-high of 27 points in the win over the Eagles. For his efforts, Hatchett collected the first Big Sky Player of the Week honor his career.• Classmate Tomas Sanchez leads the Big Sky in assists per game at 5.2 and is one of three Bengal guards averaging in double figures. His 16.2 ppg average is second on the team.• The third member of the double-figure scoring perimeter is Chris Hansen, who leads the Bengals with a 16.5 ppg clip. Hansen also tops the team with 30 3-pointers made on 73 attempts.• Hansen and Sanchez have accounted for 51 of the team’s 63 makes from beyond the arc.• Newcomer Jeffrey Solarin is the club’s top rebounder at 8.1 rpg and is also contributing 10.9 ppg. He is second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (59.0), knocking down 49 of his 83 attempts.• The Bengals trail only UND in steals among Big Sky schools, registering 98 of those through 11 games. Sanchez is tops on the team and second in the league at 2.1 spg behind UND senior Troy Huff.

WEBB FIVE AWAY FROM 1,000Senior Jamal Webb is five points away from becoming the third member of his class to join UND’s 1,000-point club. Classmates Troy Huff (8th; 1617 points) and Aaron Anderson (t19th; 1,185) joined the club last season. Only one other class in UND history - the 1999-2000 seniors - had a trio of 1,000-point scorers. Chad Mustard (1996-2000) finished his career eighth on the scoring charts with 1,568 points before going on to a brief NFL career as a tight end for the Denver Broncos. Mustard reached the plateau as a junior, while teammates Marcus Travis and Hunter Reinke surpassed the K-club as seniors. Travis was 14th on the list with 1,229 points before Huff bumped him down to No. 15, while Reinke is tied with Anderson in 19th place with 1,185 points.

MORE ROUND NUMBERS FOR MALLIEThe 1,000-point club will be another milestone reached for Webb, who has already become the first player in UND history to reach 200 steals in a career and just the fourth to dish out 400 assists. He has also been one of the top rebounding guards in program history and is just four shy of No. 500 in that category. Webb would become the first player in school history to score 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds, dish out 400 assists and collect 200 steals in a career.

CAREER LINES VS. THE BENGALSSix different players on the UND roster played against the Bengals last season and here’s a look at their career stat lines against ISU:

SENIOR DUO LIFTS UND TO FIRST BIG SKY WINSenior Jamal Webb went scoreless in the first half and classmate Troy Huff was held without a rebound, but both players got busy in the second half to lead UND to a 65-61 comeback victroy over Southern Utah. Webb scored all 14 of his points after the break, which saw his team trailing 37-36. It was the first time UND won a game this season after trailing at the half. Webb had six of those points in a closing 11-4 stretch, including the go-ahead basket with just under three minutes to play Huff, who had 18 first-half points, added seven more in the second half, but it was his 11 rebounds in the final 20 minutes that helped UND secure its first Big Sky win of the season. UND was traling on the glass 19-8 in the opening 20 minutes, but Huff’s work on the glass cut that deficit to just two by the end of the game (32-30).

HUFF NETS 12th CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLEWith 18 points and zero rebounds at halftime against Southern Utah on Thursday, senior Troy Huff seemed a long way from his second double-double of the season. However, 11 rebounds in the final 20 minutes would do the trick as the Milwaukee native not only secured his 12th career double-double, but helped UND rally for a 65-61 victory for the visiting T-Birds. The 11 rebounds were also a season-high for Huff, who also had the 30th 20-point plus outing of his career.

BENGALS BEWARESenior Aaron Anderson and his classmates own a 3-1 record against Idaho State and the 5-foot-10 guard has reached double figures in each of those contests. He is also shooting 60 percent from 3-point range in his career against ISU (9-for-15). His best game against the Bengals came at Holt Arena when had his second career 20-point game as a sophomore.

NASH NETS CAREER-HIGH 22 IN BIG SKY DEBUTSenior Jaron Nash netted a career-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor Sunday in his Big Sky debut at Northern Colorado. His offensive output was not enough, however, to overcome a 25-0 run by the Bears that led them to an 84-66 victory in the league opener for both teams. Nash and company trimmed what was a 21-point deficit down to 10 with just over seven minutes to play, but that would be as close as UNC would let them get.

FIVE FOR NO. 5Senior Troy Huff collected his second Big Sky Player of the Week honor of the season and fifth of his career on Dec. 23 after league officials announced their weekly accolade on Monday.

Huff, who was the first league player to earn multiple honors this season, scored 30 points and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 77-70 loss to South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 21. He collected a league-high three weekly honors a season ago in what was UND’s first in its new league.

Huff made 10-of-14 shots from the floor, was 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. His four 3-pointers matched a season-high. Huff leads the Big Sky and ranks 12th in the nation in scoring with an average of 22.7 points per game.

JACKS OUTLAST HUFF AND UNDSouth Dakota State withstood a trio of spirited rallies by North Dakota to post a 77-70 road win on Dec. 21 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Senior Troy Huff scored a game-high 30 points, but after falling behind by double digits for the second time late in the contest, the Green and White could not prevent their first home loss in four tries this season. Huff had 19 of his third 30-plus point outing of the season in the first half that saw UND erase a 12-point deficit and go into the break tied at 32.

THANK THE SAINTSPresentation College has proven to be the remedy needed for UND to snap five-game losing streaks the past two seasons. In 2012-13, it was 74-32 victory over the Saints that got UND back in the win column. On Dec. 15, it was a 78-32 victory over the NAIA squad that improved UND’s record to 3-6. The 32 points allowed are the fewest in the Division I era.

Senior Troy Huff led a trio of UND double-figure scorers with 19. Junior Chad Calcaterra added 11 and Aaron Anderson had 10 in the 46-point victory. UND’s defense limited the Saints to just nine field goals, including only four in the opening half when the home team raced out to a 44-13 advantage.

HUFF AMONG NATION’S SCORING LEADERSSenior Troy Huff leads all Big Sky scorers and was ninth nationally in scoring at 22.1 ppg entering the week. Huff had a streak of six straight games where he led the team in scoring end at Northern Colorado (13 points). He currently is 16th among active scorers in Division I with 1,618 points - a total that puts him eighth on the UND all-time scoring charts.

CALCATERRA’S CALCULATIONJunior Chad Calcaterra grabbed 12 rebounds in 15 games as a reserve at Colorado State during his redshirt freshman season (2011-12). In the win over Presentation, Calcaterra had 11 boards in the first half and finished with his first career double-double (11 pts, 12 rebs). His 11 points matched his previous career high set in the win over North Dakota State.

BIG MEN BACK IN THE FOLDCenter Ryan Salmonson returned to action against Northern Colorado (Dec. 29) after missing four games with an ankle injury. He was limited to five minutes and missed the only field goal he attempted. Salmonson and Alonzo Traylor both missed the South Dakota State game (Dec. 21) with injuries and their size was missed against a Jacks’ starting front-line that scored 31 points and helped the visitors outrebound UND 34-26. Traylor also sat out the UNC game, but returned to action against Southern Utah (Jan. 2).

BUCKEYE STATE RETURNSenior Josh Schuler had the best game of his season at Bowling Green on Dec. 11, scoring a season-high 14 points in 31 minutes off the bench. Schuler played in his home state for the first time in his college career. Bowling Green is about 90 miles north of his home town of Urbana.

HOLMES, BOWLING GREEN HOLDS OFF UND After trailing just 30-27 at the half, UND did not have an answer for Bowling Green junior Richaun Holmes in the second half. Holmes, who had just two points and two rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, erupted for 19 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks after the break. Seniors Troy Huff, Jaron Nash and Josh Schuler all reached double figures for UND, but their efforts could not net the team’s first road win of the season. Huff scored 16 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and has led UND in scoring the past four contests. Nash added 17, while Schuler had a season-high 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. UND made it a five-point contest with just over two minutes to play, but Bowling Green was able to connect at the free-throw line to seal the win down the strech. The Falcons went 23-for-31, while UND only got the foul strip 10 times (six makes).

NASH, ANDERSON SET CAREER HIGHS AT BGSUSenior Jaron Nash added a career-high nine rebounds to go with his 17 points at Bowling Green on Dec. 11, while Aaron Anderson posted a career-high with five steals and moved into a tie for sixth on UND’s all-time list in that category with 122. Anderson also dished out a season-high six assists, but UND also committed a season-high 18 turnovers.

LATE FIRST-HALF RUN SPARKS BUTLER IN WIN OVER UNDA 3-pointer by junior Cole Stefan put UND within a point of Butler at 21-20 with just over five minutes to play in Saturday’s first half at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but the home team outscored the visitors 18-2 over that closing stretch to put the Dec. 7 game out of reach. Senior Troy Huff scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half as UND made a late charge, but could not get any closer than 13 points after trailing by as many as 28 early in the stanza. Senior Jaron Nash added 10 points and Stefan had the best game of his brief UND career with nine points. Butler owned the glass with a 44-28 advantage and did not allow an offensive rebound to UND in the first half. The Big East squad got a game-high 29 points from Kellen Dunham and 21 more from Kyhle Marshall.

COMING UP EMPTY IN EUGENEIn the opener of the Global Sports Hardwood Challenge, Cal Poly never let UND get in a rhythm offensive eventually posting a 70-43 victory on Nov. 29. The 43 points were fewer than UND had scored in five of its first six halves of the season. Freshman Quinton Hooker led UND with nine points off the bench, while seniors Troy Huff and Aaron Anderson combined for just nine points (came in averaging 46.0 ppg between them).

A slow first-half start against No. 14/15 Oregon haunted UND in a game that the hosts won 91-76. After holding a 49-32 lead at the break, the Ducks held off a late rally by UND that saw the visitors outscore the home team 44-42 in the final 20 minutes. Huff and Anderson responded from their poor performance against Cal Poly to net 25 and 22 points, respectively against the Ducks. Classmate Jaron Nash also reached double figures with 12 points. Colorado State-transfer Chad Calcaterra earned the first start of his Division I career in the contest.

In the finale vs. Pacific on Dec. 1, UND played its best half of basketball in Eugene, racing out to a 48-45 lead at halftime. Unfortunately, a nearly nine-minute field goal drought to start the second half proved costly as the Tigers were the hot team in the final 20 minutes, knocking 62 percent of their shots from the field to pull away for a 93-76 victory. Senior Jamal Webb had his best game of the young season, scoring a season-high 16 points. Webb had 18 points combined in the first five outings. Huff once again led UND in scoring with 21 points. Anderson added 12.

STEFAN MAKES UND DEBUTJunior Cole Stefan found out prior to the NDSU game on Nov. 24 that he had been granted a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately and not have to sit out the season after transferring from Green Bay. Stefan has played in the last nine contests and is averaging 2.4 ppg. He scored a season-high nine points at Butler. Stefan averaged 3.4 ppg in 19 games at Green Bay last season and averaged 4.6 ppg in 25 games at LaSalle as a redshirt freshman during the 2010-11 season. He was a Minnesota Mr. Basketball Award Finalist at Minnetonka High School in 2009 after averaging 19.3 ppg. His squad won the Class AAAA state title his junior season when he averaged 19.0 ppg.

HUFF NETS BACK-TO-BACK 30-PLUS POINT NIGHTSSenior Troy Huff became just the ninth player in UND history to register back-to-back games with 30-plus points earlier this season. After scoring a career-high 37 points in front of friends and family at No. 12/15 Wisconsin (Nov. 19), Huff backed up that performance with a 32-point, 10-rebound effort in the 95-77 triumph over rival North Dakota State on Sunday (Nov. 24). The last player to achieve that feat was Jerome Beasley, who reeled off three consecutive 30-point games in the final stretch of his UND career at the end of 2002-03 season. Beasley and Travis Tuttle are the only two players to accomplish that feat twice in their UND careers. Beasley holds the UND record with 14 30-plus scoring games, while Tuttle, Phil Jackson and Dave Vonesh each had 13 during their respective careers.

HUFF NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEKFor the fourth time in his career, senior Troy Huff was named the Big Sky Player of the Week on Nov. 25. Huff averaged 34.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 3.0 spg in contests at No. 12/15 Wisconsin and vs. North Dakota State. He shot 67.6 percent from the field (23-for-34) and 58.3 percent from 3-point range (7-for-12). Huff earned three weekly honors in UND’s first season in the league a year ago - that tied him with Montana’s Kareem Jamar for the most in the Big Sky during the 2012-13 season.

WIN NO. 1,500 COMES VS. RIVAL NDSU UND picked up its 1,500th win in program history with the decisive 95-77 victory over rival North Dakota State. More than 10 percent of those wins have come against the Bison as UND improved to 159-128 all-time against its in-state rival. The program started in 1904-05 and 910 of those victories have come at home.

SELLOUT CROWD WATCHES UND DISPOSE OF RIVAL NDSUSunday’s crowd for the UND-North Dakota State game threatened the all-time attendance record at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, but when the final total was announced, it fell 50 short of the record of 3,192 set on Feb. 24, 2006 vs. Minnesota Duluth. The game will go down officially as a sellout as capacity for the building, which was opened in August of 2004, is 3,064.

FOUL FESTUND scored nearly 33 percent of its points from the charity stripe in the 18-point victory over NDSU on Nov. 24. The home team went 33-for-41 from the stripe en route to scoring 95 points against the Bison. The teams combined for 57 fouls and 77 foul shots in the contest that saw four NDSU starters and one UND reserve foul out.

HUFF BUMPS BEASLEYSenior Troy Huff had a memorable night in front of dozens of friends and family in Madison on Nov. 19. He scored a career-high 37 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the floor and moved into UND’s top 10 list of all-time scorers with the effort. Huff bumped Jerome Beasley from the top 10 list and now sits in eighth place with 1,618 points for his career. Beasley, who was also the last UND player to score 37 points in a game (at St. Cloud State; 2003), finished his two-year career in Grand Forks with 1,402 points. Beasley was a second-round draft pick by the Miami Heat in the 2003 NBA Draft.

MADNESS IN MADISONUND lost by 18 to No. 12/15 Wisconsin, but the 85 points scored by UND were the second most allowed by a Bo Ryan-coached Wisconsin team at home in his 13 seasons as the Badgers’ head coach. Seniors Troy Huff (37) and Jaron Nash (19) both had career highs in a game that saw UND shoot 54.5 percent from the field and 53.9 percent from 3-point range.

HIGH OCTANEThe 2013-14 North Dakota basketball team scored more points through three games than any other squad in program history. UND averaged 96.7 ppg during that stretch and the 290 points were 15 more than the 1977-78 team coached by Dave Gunther that held the previous record through three games.

LIKE MOTHER-LIKE SONIn two career games against his mom’s alma mater, Wisconsin, Troy Huff did his best impression of her, scoring 58 points (29.0 ppg) and grabbing 12 rebounds (6.0 rpg) at the Kohl Center. Theresa Huff left Wisconsin after her playing career ended in 1983 as the program’s all-time leading scorer (1,879) and rebounder (1,201) and was inducted into the Badgers’ Hall of Fame in 1998. Huff currently ranks fifth on the scoring charts, but still leads in rebounding. Her son moved into UND’s top 10 list for scoring with his career-high scoring effort in front of family and friends on Tuesday in Madison.

FAST START FOR NASHIn 27 career games at Texas Tech, senior Jaron Nash scored in double figures just once - a 15-point outing against Wake Forest early in the 2011-12 season at the Old Spice Classic. In 12 games in a UND uniform, Nash has reached double figures eight times and scored a career-high 22 points at Northern Colorado in his Big Sky debut. Nash is averaging 11.4 ppg for UND after only scoring 2.6 ppg in 27 contests with the Red Raiders during the 2011-12 season.

SHAKE-UP SHUFFLEHead coach Brian Jones opted to use a completely different starting lineup at Wisconsin (Nov. 19) from the one in the season opener. True freshman Quinton Hooker and Alonzo Traylor started for the first time in their UND careers, while Josh Schuler picked up his 56th career start. Shane Benton earned his ninth career start and Lenny Antwi received his third. The regular starters ended up playing a majority of the minutes when it was all said and done. Senior Aaron Anderson had started the previous 66 games, including all 65 games during his sophomore and junior seasons. Jones said following the game, the second-unit prepared better leading up to the Badgers’ game and outplayed the regulars in a decisivie four-minute game in the final practice that ultimately led to his decision.

UND BREEZES BY MORRIS IN SEASON OPENERSenior Aaron Anderson scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor (3-of-4 from 3-point range) as UND rolled to a 110-69 victory over Minnesota Morris in last Wednesday’s season opener (Nov. 13). Anderson was one of five players in double figures: Lenny Antwi (18), Troy Huff (18), Quinton Hooker (17) and Jaron Nash (15).

NO REDSHIRT FOR HOOKERTrue freshman Quinton Hooker made his collegiate debut against Minnesota Morris, scoring 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor. He also added four assists in the victory. The 2013 Minnesota Mr. Basketball Award winner was in line to redshirt this season, but the coaching staff was to impressed by his play in fall camp to not have him on the active roster during the 2013-14 season. Hooker had four poitns and four more assists in the Wisconsin game. Through eight games, Hooker is averaging 5.0 ppg and leads the team with 20 assists.

FOURTH ALONEHead coach Brian Jones picked up win No. 103 of his career in the season opener after his team thumped Minnesota Morris 110-69. The victory put him in fourth place on UND’s all-time wins list for men’s basketball. Jones now has 106 wins during his tenure at UND.

DI-BESTUND improved to 5-3 in season and home openers under Jones with the 110-69 victoy over Minnsota Morris on Wednesday. The 110 points scored were the most of the DI era and tied for the 10th most by a UND team.

ANTWI FOR THREEJunior Lenny Antwi has a knack for season openers. After scoring a career and season high 17 points in the 2012-13 season opener vs. Waldorf, the Canadian sharp shooter bested that total with 18 points in the win over Minnesota Morris. Antwi went 7-for-11 from the field, including a 4-for-7 effort from beyond the arc against the Cougars.

YEAR TWO IN THE SKYThe 2013-14 season will mark the second for the club in the Big Sky Conference. In year one, Jones led UND to 12 wins, which were the most ever by a league newcomer and a third-place finish in the league standings. UND opened the campaign 1-4, but finished with an 11-4 mark and won a Division I-program record six games on the road.

HUFF CLAIMS SCORING TITLESenior Troy Huff won the Big Sky scoring title with a 19.2 ppg average despite missing eight games with a broken jaw he suffered in the season opener at Kansas State last season. He averaged 19.7 ppg in Big Sky play and was one of two league players (Montana’s Kareem Jamar) to earn unanimous All-Big Sky first team honors. Huff also landed on the Lou Henson Mid-Major All-America Team.

HUFF NAMED TO LOU HENSON PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMHuff was one of 25 mid-major players named to the Lou Henson Preseason All-America Team on Oct. 2. Huff landed a spot on the 2012-13 Lou Henson All-America Team after leading the Big Sky in scoring at 19.2 ppg and leading UND to its third-straight CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

HUFF ON CBSSPORTS.COM TOP 30 UNDER-THE-RADAR PERFORMERS Huff was one of 30 mid-major players listed by CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander as under-the-radar performers to watch out for during the 2013-14. Here is what Norlander had to say about Huff:

“What a player! Checks in at around 175 pounds, yet averaged seven boards last season. He also scored 19 points for the team currently without a moniker. In addition to sniffing the defensive glass so well, he’s also a good defender and gets into passing lanes so well.”

TRAYLOR REGAINS ELIGIBILITYSenior Alonzo Traylor had to sit out the second semester of last year’s schedule, but worked hard in the classroom to regain his eligibility for the 2013-14 season. Traylor was starting to come into his own after eight games of last season, but poor academic performance cost him the second half of his first season at UND. Traylor had a double-double in what was his final game of the season in the Big Sky opener at Southern Utah (Dec. 18). He averaged 7.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg in just over 16 minutes per game last season.

BANGED-UP BREKKEFellow senior Brandon Brekke was also limited by injuries, appearing in only 19 games. He could never really get on track due to head and ankle injuries, but did average 5.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg when he was able to play. Brekke has not appeared in a game this season.

ANTWI INHERITS CLASSMATESGuard Lenny Antwi went from being the only sophomore on the 2012-13 roster to being one of five juniors on the 2013-14 roster. Big men Chad Calcaterra and Ryan Salmonson will factor into the front court playing rotation, while backcourt mates Estan Tyler and Cole Stefan are slated to sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. Stefan is applying to the NCAA for a hardship waiver to play immediately this season, but that process has not yet been completed. Antwi appeared in a career-high 33 games last season and averaged 4.7 ppg, while shooting 35.9 percent from 3-point range.

TRANSFERS GALOREOf the 16 players on the 2013-14 roster, four have played Division I basketball for another program. Newcomer Estan Tyler (Kansas City) will sit out the 2013-14 season due to NCAA transfer rules and have two seasons of eligibility remaining when his career resumes. Tyler led Kansas City in scoring a season ago at a 11.4 ppg clip. Stefan began his collegiate career at LaSalle in 2010-11 and later transferred to Green Bay for the 2012-13 season. He is a sharp-shooter that averaged just over four points per game in 44 combined games as the two schools. Calcaterra spent two seasons at Colorado State and has an NCAA Tournament game appearance under his belt from the 2011-12 Rams’ run to the field of 68. Nash played one season at Texas Tech under Billy Gillespie and had a career-high 15 points vs. Wake Forest at the Old Spice Classic during the 2011-12 season.

HIGH-SCORING ACTSeniors Troy Huff and Aaron Anderson reached the 1,000-point plateau during the 2012-13 season becoming the first set of junior classmates to achieve that feat in UND history. Both are currently looking to climb UND’s scoring chart, while two more classmates are looking to follow suit this season. Point guard Jamal Webb is the closest with only 40 points standing between him and the milestone, while shooting guard Josh Schuler needs 254.